sethy666

Good afternoon,

I have a Cooler Master CM690 with a full compliment of case fans (6) and to be honest, she is a lil loud.

I have been looking at fan controllers and found this one. The reviews look good but was hoping that you good people may have some thoughts.

I am restricted to 5.25" as the 3.5" bay is not accessable from the front of the case without modding.

Appreciate your time.

forcifer

good brand, its huge, looks like it would work.

i dont know why not :) most of them work roughly the same, just depends on what kind of features you want. i have heard good things about these ones:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...oducts_id=8744 - i have heard its the best, i have never used it though
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...oducts_id=5442 - simple and cheaper

just a few suggestions :) the one you have chosen will work perfectly as well

sethy666

Thanks forcifer,

To be honest, I just want to control the fans, everything else is a bonus. I did have a look at the Zalman but the reviews where not flash.

Im seriously thinking of getting a couple of Zalman fan-mates and doing a mod with them.

forcifer

that also works :) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999171 are more reviews for the zalman. i have heard it is good, but again i ripped an old fan controller out of my old case and used it for a while

sethy666

You have been most helpful, thanks.

The more I think about it, the more I like to have a crack at this fanmate mod. Mod out one of the front panels, get a couple of flash knobs - bingo - ghetto fan controller... what do you think?

forcifer

sounds like it would work great :) here is a link to something i kinda did a while ago.
[Project] SilverStoned there is that one when i drilled a hole in the top plastic panel and put the controller through it. worked very well, although it was a small pain to make sure it didnt move.

lets see your rig is the other one. it probably worked better, but was harder to access.

note: the silverstoned work log is pretty interesting if you ever want to paint your case :) i have another painting worklog, i believe it is titled "First Fire". painting, in my opinion, is the best way to make a case truly your own :)

sethy666

Okay, now Im really inspired! Looks wicked!

Im outta here to go and drill some holes and heat up the glue gun!

Wish me luck!

forcifer

lol good luck :) pics please!

if you need any help, just ask. i have drilled way too many holes in computer cases....

sethy666

I puller the Zalman fan mate apart last night and found that the pot shaft will be way too short for what I need. So, this morning I went down to my local Jaycar Electronics store (Nice people there) and they helped me out with the appropriate pots, knobs and wires... plus a soldering iron. (do you think they saw me coming??).

They sell dremels tooo!!! But thats for another day.

This will actually allow me do a better job because I wont be constricted to trying to physically place the fan mate case against front facing of the case.

Pics - definitely!

Im starting tonight with the prototype and make sure it works before I start drilling holes in face plates.

Ive never done anything like this before and Im quiet excited

forcifer

lol the modding bug has bitten. get a dremel first, then soldering iron unless you need to combine wires, etc. you can do almost anything with a dremel

sethy666

I will need the soldering iron as I need to attach the new pot from the fan mate.

I think I will need to have a chat with my wife about using a dremel... she wont understand why I need to cut up a perfectly new case... lol.

Maybe I should point her to this forum :)

sethy666

Heres what I had in mind, just a rough sketch...

Attached Images

Fan_Mod.JPG (15.1 KB, 3 views)

forcifer

at least you didnt burn a case Project: Fiery PC :) that case mod was the best. dont worry about convincing her...just say it will improve performance a bunch. it will....i promise

sethy666

yeah, I saw that project and sent the thread to a guy that wanted to make his own case... very cool!

My wife gives me a hard time when I buy a fan! I dread to think of the "discussion" we would have when I fire up a dremel (LOL).

I keep telling her at least Im not doing up a car... "wadda ya mean you want to use the dinning table for meals? Where am I suppose to put my V8 engine???"

forcifer

ahahaha good luck :) she better allow it... modding is so much fun. you get addicted and quickly

sethy666

I started off asking for opinions on an after market cooler and decided to mod my own using..

2 x Zalman fan-mate 2
2 x pots
2 x knobs
a bunch of wire


I removed the pots from fan mates and wired up the new pots. The shafts of the fan mates where way to short to do anything with.

Next I started on the case and face plates. In drilled a couple of holes where i wanted them and placed the pots and attached the knobs

Once the face plate was on, its just a matter of lining up the mesh plate and hoping the pot shafts where long enough... they where

I hooked up the fans to the controller, placed the knobs and tested... all okay!

Clean up the cables and sit back and enjoy the quiet.

I suspect this is a very common mod but hey... its my first and I was excited to do it. Next Im getting a dremel - Look out!

Attached Images

	DSCN2283.JPG (396.4 KB, 5 views)
	DSCN2292.JPG (464.9 KB, 7 views)

forcifer

very nicely done :)

sethy666

One down, three to go...

1) Stealthing the DVD drive
2) Cutting out the side fan grill and replacing with a shiney metal grill
3) Side panel window <whao!>

That, and Im hoping to effect a new build after my tax return comes in.

Intel 8400 or 8500?? Cant decide -whats you thoughts?
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R

forcifer

for stealthing dvd drive: its fun, but kind of a pain, good luck :)

new fan grill: very fun, easy, you got it.

side window: TAKE YOUR TIME. it isnt hard, just be careful and it will work great

for processor/motherboard, are you going to overclock or leave it at stock speeds? i would personally recommend AMD phenom II because of its price point vs performance, but its up to you

sethy666

Im probably going to leave it a stock speeds until Im totally familar with the processor and board. Once I get a feel for whats "normal" I start OCing.

My current setup is an OEM build with a crippled BIOS, so cant even play at OCing